Critical reviews in food science and nutrition
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Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr · Mar 2021
Does saffron supplementation have favorable effects on liver function indicators? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Several pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical approaches have been suggested to improve liver health. There is a large discrepancy in the effects of saffron supplementation on liver function in adults. To fill this knowledge gap, this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assess the effects of saffron supplementation on liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). ⋯ In the dose-response analysis, we did not find a significant dose-response relationship between dosage and duration of saffron supplementation on serum levels of ALT, AST, and ALP. We found that saffron supplementation can reduce ALT serum concentrations without significant effects on other liver function indicators, including AST and ALP. Nevertheless, future large RCTs on diverse populations are needed to understand better the effects of saffron and its constituents on these enzymes.
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Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr · Jan 2021
ReviewNutritional status and follicular-derived thyroid cancer: An update.
The incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer has been increasing in the last decades all over the world. Such a steady growth cannot be entirely attributable to more intensive thyroid nodule screening and more sensitive diagnostic procedures. Several environmental factors have changed with sufficient rapidity in the same time frame and may represent credible candidates for this increase. ⋯ Lastly, a clear association between obesity and the risk of thyroid cancer, with more aggressive behavior, seems to emerge from most studies, likely involving variations in thyroid function and chronic inflammation mediated by cytokines, insulin, leptin and adiponectins. Although no definite association between dietary factors and thyroid cancer has been firmly established so far, some nutritional patterns, together with excessive weight, seem to play a relevant role in thyroid cancer carcinogenesis as well as in its severity and aggressiveness. These effects may play an additive role to the well-established one exerted by environmental carcinogens, such as pollutants and radiation exposure.
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Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr · Jan 2021
ReviewThe impact of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on the biochemical, clinical, and immunological markers, as well as on the gut microbiota of obese hosts.
Obesity is currently considered a global epidemic and it leads to several alterations on the human body and its metabolism. There are evidences showing that the intestinal microbiota can influence on the pathogenesis of obesity. Microbiota plays a vital role not only in the digestion and absorption of nutrients, but also in the homeostatic maintenance of host immunity, metabolism, and gut barrier. ⋯ It also emphasizes how changes in the composition and/or metabolic activity of the gut microbiota through the administration of nutrients with probiotic, prebiotic, or synbiotic properties can modulate the host's gene expression and metabolism, and thereby positively influence on the host's adipose tissue development and related metabolic disorders. The beneficial effects on the host's metabolism promoted by prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics have been successfully demonstrated by several studies. However, further investigation is needed to fully explain the cellular mechanisms of action of probiotics and prebiotics on human health, and also to elucidate the relationship between microbiota and obesity etiology, using well-designed, long-term, and large-scale clinical interventions.
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Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr · Jan 2020
Meta AnalysisThe effects of curcumin supplementation on body weight, body mass index and waist circumference: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Background & Objectives: Inconsistent data are available about the effect of curcumin supplementation on body weight. This systematic review and meta-analysis was done to summarize data from available clinical trials on the effect of curcumin supplementation on body weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), and Waist Circumference (WC). Methods: PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar were searched to find relevant articles up to August 2018. ⋯ Based on subgroup analysis, we found that the effect of curcumin on WC was significant in studies that prescribed ≥1000 mg/d curcumin (P ≤ 0.001), those with the intervention duration of ≥8 weeks (P ≤ 0.001), and those that was performed on overweight subjects (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: We found a significant effect of curcumin supplementation on body weight and BMI, but not on WC. However, the effect of curcumin on WC was significant in studies done on overweight subjects, used ≥1000 mg/d curcumin, and ≥8 weeks of duration.
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Mainstream dietary recommendations now commonly advise people to minimize the intake of red meat for health and environmental reasons. Most recently, a major report issued by the EAT-Lancet Commission recommended a planetary reference diet mostly based on plants and with no or very low (14 g/d) consumption of red meat. We argue that claims about the health dangers of red meat are not only improbable in the light of our evolutionary history, they are far from being supported by robust scientific evidence.